Articles in The 'Mobile-Device' Tag

Having a Mobile Website is Not Enough

by Katherine Bennett

There’s a lot of buzz in the media about mobile devices and many businesses have made an effort to create a mobile website. However, just having a single version of your mobile website isn’t enough. A company’s mobile website should be functional and user friendly across multiple mobile devices and their platforms.

Let’s talk about functionality first. It’s safe to say that not all smartphones are created equal. When creating a mobile website, it’s good to keep in mind that your website isn’t being built for one particular mobile device, as iPhones, blackberrys, and android phones will be all accessing your website. In order for your website to appear correctly on various mobile device screens it’s important to make the necessary adjustments in the interworkings of the website. It is also imperative that simulated tests be done with various mobile devices to confirm that it appears the correct way. For example: ask a few employees at your place of business to pull up your website on their phone and give their feedback on how it appears.

Mobile websites should be easy to navigate and allow users to get to the information they want quickly. No one wants to scroll forever to find a link or read an encyclopedia to find a simple answer. On mobile websites, the motto to follow is short and sweet. Another tidbit is to make sure the phone number is readily accessible on all pages. After all, they are on their cell phone.

Mobile devices aren’t going anywhere and their usage is increasing. If your company doesn’t want to get left behind, now’s the time to make the change.   Consider creating a mobile website or improving the functionality and user friendliness of your current one.

Mobile Computing And Evidence Of It’s Future Dominance

by Gerard Tollefsen

The growth of mobile computing is off the charts and consumer confidence in using mobile devices continues to strengthen.  Perfect evidence of this consumer confidence is represented by how many users rely on their mobile devices for researching important, sensitive data and personal information.

comScore released their latest findings on the number of people who use their mobile devices to access their financial data and the numbers are eye-opening.  You can read the full press release here. One of the main findings in the report illustrates consumer confidence in mobile computing, and reads “in Q4 2010, 29.8 million Americans accessed financial services accounts (bank, credit card, or brokerage) via their mobile device, an increase of 54 percent from Q4 2009.”  This is an excellent barometer of how mobile computing will grow to dominate the way individuals connect with and use the internet to access information.  I am not predicting the end of home computing, but local bank branches need to pay attention to these numbers.  For example, when the respondents were asked, “What is your primary method of accessing financial accounts? (Among Mobile Banking and Mobile Credit Card Customers) 44% said they go online from a fixed device (think personal home computer or work PC).  36% of the respondents said they use their mobile device or cell phone, while only 8% said they visit the branch or agent in person.

These are strong indicators of future consumer behavior and further demonstrate the need for all businesses to embrace a mobile strategy.  Individuals are relying on mobile devices in growing numbers for even the most sensitive of personal data.  If people are comfortable accessing financial information from their phone, they surely will feel confident using their phone to find a company to buy from when they want to make their next purchase.  Align your business marketing strategy to account for these users with a mobile version of your website and a solid mobile marketing strategy.

Having a Mobile Website is Only Half the Battle

by Marni Weinberg

You have stepped up to the plate and made the (smart) decision to create a mobile friendly version of your website. That is great news, especially because the number of mobile users continues to rise and you ought to ensure that your website can accommodate this growing market segment. So, now all you have left to do is design the mobile site and you’re done, right? WRONG!  Just when you think you have all of your bases are covered, you don’t. There are a few important factors to consider before building out your mobile site.

For starters, there are many different smartphones available for people to choose from. You might be asking yourself, what exactly is a smartphone? According to Wikipedia, “a smartphone is a mobile phone that offers more advanced computing ability and connectivity than a contemporary basic feature phone. Smartphones may be thought of as handheld computers integrated within a mobile phone.” Examples of the most commonly used smartphones are:  iPhone, Blackberry, Android, etc. Now you might be asking yourself, does it really matter which device a visitor uses to access my website? Won’t having a mobile version make for a positive user experience for every smartphone user? The answer is probably not, reason being, not all smartphones will render the same. This is why it’s hugely important to identify which devices your visitors are using to view your website. Having this knowledge will afford you the ability to tailor to the vast majority of your mobile audience. For example, when creating mobile websites for clients, our Design and Development teams utilize simulator testing, which will actually “simulate” how the site will render on each device. In addition, they will create custom versions to support the most popular devices accessing your site, as well as install JavaScript, which will detect which device is being used, then display the appropriate version.

Now, you might be asking yourself, how do I figure out which devices my visitors are using? This information can be easily found in your analytics program. If you utilize Google Analytics, click on Visitors (on the left navigation) then click on Mobile and finally, Mobile Devices. The results may astound you! Remember: having a mobile site is only half the battle; it should be optimized properly for your mobile audience, whatever that audience might be.